The Power of a Playing Lesson

One question I get fairly often is about my lesson format. I do teach some one-hour lessons, but a lot of my schedule is helping people across a full morning or afternoon session. That extended format is fantastic for a few important reasons. First, having more time for the lesson to "breathe" means we're able to really get into the areas you want to improve and make durable changes. Spending three hours together in one stretch produces more progress than visiting three separate times for an hour each. It's also a great format for a group of golf buddies or business associates to get together and work on short game in a kind of private, personalized clinic. There's a lot of learning, but it stays fun and loose when you have people you know around you going through the same process. That bigger time footprint is also extremely valuable because it makes something like a 9-hole playing lesson possible.

Playing lessons are so important—especially for those of you who want to play competitively—because what happens on the golf course is often a lot different than what you experience in the controlled conditions at the practice green. When we play together, I can see how you respond and adapt to changing conditions, and how you play when the shots mean something. I'm able to see your game the way you really play it, and you can see first-hand how I see shots and pick the ones I'm going to play. Many times, I'll watch a student on the course and the issue he or she has is one they might not have even been aware of—like aiming. A simple adjustment can often clean up alaundry list of issues. If you haven't tried one yet, I highly recommend it—and Arizona's weather is perfect this time of year!